Pope Leo XIV urges US and Iran to resume talks, calls for peace

Pope Leo XIV urged the United States and Iran to return to talks to end the war Thursday and condemned capital punishment in a wideranging press conference en route home from his trip to AfricaLeo also asserted that countries have the right to control their borders but mustnt treat migrants worse than animals and lamented that the churchs morality teaching is often reduced to sexual issuesOn Iran capital punishment and peaceAfter a trip that was dominated by the very public back and forth between Leo and US President Donald Trump over the war Leo urged the United States and Iran to return to negotiationsHe called for a new culture of peace to replace the recourse to violence whenever conflicts ariseHe said the question wasnt whether the Iran regime should change or not The question should be about how to promote the values we believe in without the deaths of so many innocentsHe revealed that he carries with him the photo of a Muslim Lebanese boy who had been killed in Israels recent war with Hezbollah The boy had been photographed holding a sign welcoming the pope when he visited Lebanon last yearAs a pastor I cannot be in favour of war he told reporters aboard his plane I would like to encourage everyone to find responses that come from a culture of peace and not hatred and divisionAsked if he condemned Irans recent executions Leo said he condemned all actions that are unjust and included capital punishment in the listI condemn the taking of peoples lives I condemn capital punishment I believe human life is to be respected and that all people from conception to natural death their lives should be respected and protectedSo when a regime when a country takes decisions which take away the lives of other people unjustly then obviously that is something that should be condemned he saidPope Francis changed the churchs social teaching to declare capital punishment immoral in all casesOn migration and the rights of statesLeo affirmed the right of countries to impose immigration controls on their borders and acknowledged that uncontrolled migration had created situations that are sometimes more unjust in the place where they arrive than from where they leftI personally believe that a state has the right to impose rules for its frontiers he said But saying this I ask What are we doing in the wealthier countries to change the situation in poorer countries to provide opportunities so that people arent compelled to leaveRegardless he said migrants are human beings and deserve to be respected in their human dignity and not be treated worse than house pets animalsOn LGBTQ blessings and moralityLeo was asked about the recent invitation by Cardinal Reinhard Marx archbishop of Munich for the priests and pastoral workers in his archdioceses to adopt a set of guidelines formalizing and ritualizing blessings of samesex couplesThe guidelines were approved last year by a controversial German church governing body made up of the German bishops conference and a Catholic lay group that has been working to have a greater say in church decisionmakingThe Vatican in 2023 allowed for such blessings but it made clear that they were not to be formalized or ritualized The Vatican allowed them to be offered spontaneously and informally as a priest gives a final blessing to all people at the end of MassLeo said the Holy See had made clear to German bishops that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of gay couples or couples in other irregular situationsThe Vaticans 2023 declaration allowing an informal blessing promulgated with virtually no consultation outside the Vatican sharply divided the church with African bishops delivering a continentwide dissent and refusing to implement it Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countriesAsked how he would handle keeping the church unified over such a divisive issue Leo spoke broadly about how culture war questions of sexual morality had dominated church discourse particularly in the West far too muchI think its very important to understand that the unity or division of the church should not revolve around sexual matters he said We tend to think that when the church is talking about morality that the only issue of morality is sexualAnd in reality I believe that there are much greater and more important issues such as justice equality freedom of men and women freedom of religion that would all take priority before that particular issueThe comment was significant because it suggested that even though he is American Leo believes the church in the US and the West has excessively reduced its moral teachings to revolve only around sex at the expense of other pressing issuesA pope who keeps on eye on how hes being coveredHistorys first US pope showed himself keenly aware of how his Africa trip had been reported and interpreted including about his sometimes tame public addresses to African leaders who are accused of corruption or authoritarianismWith a few notable exceptions Leo kept his political remarks to the leaders largely diplomatic using a language of encouragement and subtle messaging rather than headlinegrabbing condemnationsHe also allowed some of the circumstances of his visit to speak louder than his words a choreographed song and dance routine by prisoners in a country known for gross human rights abuses or the extravagant luxury of a presidents hometown in a country where more than half the population lives in povertyLeo insisted that his primary reason for visiting Algeria Cameroon Angola and Equatorial Guinea was as a pastor to accompany his flock in their faithHe added that the Holy See can sometimes achieve more behind the scenes via its diplomatic work including through the release of political prisoners than with great proclamations criticizing judging or condemningThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and 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